Munster’s Craig Casey named as vice captain of Ireland U20 World Cup squad

An extended Ireland Under 20 Squad of
33 players, sponsored by PwC, has been named by the Ireland U20 Management team
ahead of the World Rugby U20 Championship in Argentina next month.

Head Coach Noel McNamara and
his staff will reduce the squad to a 28-man travelling party in the next week.

The tournament will take place from
the 4th – 22nd of June, with Ireland playing their Pool B games in Santa Fe at
the Club de Rugby Atheneo Immaculada. The play-off games will take place in
Rosario between the Racecourse Stadium and Club Old Resian.

Ireland share Pool B with Australia,
England and Italy and will face Six Nations rivals England on the opening day
of the tournament.

The squad will be captained by UCD and Leinster’s Charlie Ryan, with Shannon and Munster scrum-half Craig Casey (pictured below) named as vice-captain.

In total there are eight Munster players named among the squad.

Ryan and Dylan Tierney-Martin are
the two members of the squad with previous experience at the World
Championships, having taken to the field in France last summer.

There are six uncapped players named,
with Declan Adamson, Thomas Ahern, Azur Allison and Charlie Ward named
in the forwards and Adam LaGrue and Stewart Moore in the
backs.

Speaking about the tournament,
McNamara commented:

“History has shown us that this is an attritional competition and it’s important that anyone who may take to the field in Argentina is up to speed with how want to play.

With that in mind we have named an extended squad ahead of setting off in two weeks’ time.

We have had some really positive sessions since the Six Nations, and with another camp coming up next week we will continue to build on preparations ahead of the first game against England.”

At the squad announcement, PwC Partner Paraic Joyce said:

“As long-standing partners of Irish Rugby, we’re delighted to support the U20 team in this year’s World Rugby Championship.

The development of talent, collaborative teamwork and a pursuit of excellence are some of the core values of PwC and are the hallmarks of this team. It is these shared values that have made our partnership with the IRFU so successful over the last 14 years.

Following a momentous Six Nations Grand Slam, all of us here in PwC are confident that the team will put their best foot forward on the world stage.

The team are excellent ambassadors for the country, for Irish Rugby and for PwC Ireland. We wish them the best of luck in Argentina in the upcoming games.”